GOTHENBURG, Neb. — An estimated 30 cars of a Union Pacific coal train derailed Thursday morning two miles southeast of Gothenburg, KOLN/KGIN radio reports. The accident about 7:30 a.m., involving a train eastbound from Wyoming, blocked all three tracks of the UP main line about 35 miles southeast of North Platte, with the railroad working […]
WASHINGTON — The four largest U.S. Class I railroads have told federal regulators that their conductor training programs and hiring pipelines are full as they try to restore service to normal levels amid widespread crew shortages. The railroads’ service recovery plans, submitted to the Surface Transportation Board on Friday as required, outlined the steps BNSF […]
WASHINGTON – The Class I railroads submitted their first batch of expanded performance metrics to federal regulators this week, including a snapshot of on-time performance data. The board on May 6 ordered the railroads to report the data beginning this week in response to shipper complaints and testimony delivered during two days of hearings last […]
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Railroading Heritage of Midwest America will restore the tender for Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014, the Union Pacific Historical Society learned Thursday at its annual meeting. Restoration of that tender will allow the tender currently used by the Big Boy to be rejoined with its original locomotive, Challenger No. 3985, which […]
MINNEAPOLIS – Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA) has announced a Double Matching Grant program to aid in the restoration of its two recently acquired Union Pacific steam locomotives, Challenger No. 3985 and 2-10-2 No. 5511. Under the program announced this week, all donations to RRHMA’s Steam Restoration Fund will be matched with $2 for […]
WASHINGTON – For the week ended May 7, U.S. rail traffic registered 504,927 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.5% decline over the same period in 2021. Figures from the Association of American Railroads show the total number of carloads at 231,737, down 1.9% over the same week in 2021, while intermodal volume was 273,190 containers […]
OTTAWA, Ontario – Class I railroads operating in Canada would be required to report additional performance and staffing metrics under a proposal Canadian regulators unveiled on Friday. Transport Canada’s move was announced on the same day that the Surface Transportation Board said it will temporarily require the big railroads to provide more detailed operational and […]
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have ordered Class I railroads to provide more detailed operational and staffing metrics and will require the big four U.S. systems to submit service recovery plans in light of widespread service problems that were spotlighted during hearings last week. The Surface Transportation Board, in a decision issued on Friday, said “immediate […]
Union Pacific Challenger: Railroad slogans are one of the industry’s lost arts. The old ad men and promoters who came up with them were geniuses. Remember when phrases like Water Level Route or Main Line of Mid-America told you so much about a particular railroad? The best ones spoke of far-flung places, and how to […]
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Union Pacific has suffered “multiple washouts” in the Muskogee area following torrential rains early Thursday, the railroad said in a notification to customers. Repair efforts were on hold until waters receded, UP said in the notification posted later that day. Limited reroutes were available, but customers were advised to expect delays of […]
WASHINGTON — A Nebraska utility says it will file a rate complaint against Union Pacific for a reciprocal switch involving unit coal trains interchanged with BNSF Railway a few miles from the power plant. The Omaha Public Power District disclosed its plans to challenge the reasonableness of UP’s rates in a regulatory filing with the […]
EMD DDA40X: In 1968, Union Pacific purchased 50 20-cylinder, 3,600 hp EMD SD45s for high-speed service. However, the units did not meet management’s expectations in that role. So, UP commissioned EMD to design and build a locomotive that would develop more horsepower than the DD35, U50, or C855 models. The result was the largest double-diesel […]
